Seven-year assistant coach Derrin Hansen will take over as the interim head coach after Kevin McKenna resigned today (July 1) after four seasons at the helm of the program.

McKenna, who guided the Mavericks to 89 victories, two North Central Conference titles and three appearances in the NCAA Division II tournament, will return to Creighton University as an assistant coach. McKenna, a former Creighton player, is a 1993 CU graduate and was an assistant at the school from 1993-2001 before coming to UNO.

Hansen has been the Mavericks' recruiting coordinator as well as being responsible for scouting and game preparation.

"We are all very sorry to see Kevin McKenna leave our program," Athletic Director David Herbster said. "He's done an outstanding job in his four years as the head coach. We are very fortunate, however, to have a great staff in place and I am very confident that Derrin will keep this program moving in the right direction as it prepares for the upcoming season."

Hansen's recruiting efforts enabled the Mavericks to sign several area standouts. He is a 1991 graduate of Nebraska Wesleyan University and began his coaching career as a student-assistant coach for the Plainsmen. As a player, his 1988 squad advanced to the Division III Final Four. As a student-coach, his 1990 squad advanced to the Final 16.

After graduating from Wesleyan, Hansen spent two years as the basketball and track coach at Elmwood-Murdock High School in Murdock, Neb. He also taught health and physical education, weightlifting, and physiology at EMHS.

Hansen went on to Nebraska-Kearney for two years as a graduate assistant while earning his Master's Degree in physical education in the summer of 1995. That August Hansen was hired as the assistant basketball coach at Mid-Plains Community College in North Platte, Neb. At Mid-Plains CC, he was also the recruiting coordinator. Outside of basketball, he taught physical education classes and held the position of Intramural Director.

He has coached at numerous basketball camps throughout the Midwest, including the Mid-Plains Community College, Missouri-Kansas City, Nebraska-Kearney, Nebraska Wesleyan, Southern Illinois-Carbondale, Nebraska-Lincoln and Creighton camps.

Hansen teaches physical education classes in the HPER building. He is married to the former Vicki Harris. The couple has two daughters, Abby and Erica.

McKenna, who became the Mavericks' 20th head coach in May, 2001, inherited a program that had just two winning seasons out of the last eight and just three winning seasons in the last 16 in NCC play. In 2001-02, McKenna's first Maverick team, 9-17 the year before, set a school record for wins, finished a surprise second in the NCC and made UNO's first visit to the NCAA Division II tournament in 17 years. The 24-9 record represented one of the top turnarounds in the nation.

In 2002-03, the Mavericks posted a 20-10 record, caught fire near the end of the season and reached the NCC's post season tournament championship game before falling. In 2003-04 the Mavericks won both the regular season and the post season titles in the NCC and advanced to the NCAA II tournament, posting a 22-8 mark. Last season UNO won the regular season title for a second straight year and finished the season in the NCAA II tournament with a 23-6 record.